The Anti-Semitic Derangement

France's Jews are leaving, and that never bodes well for the society driving them out.

Even before last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, the French prime minister was concerned about the continued viability of Jewish life in France. In an interview with The Atlantic prior to the Charlie Hebdo and kosher supermarket massacres, Manuel Valls made a grim prediction:

"If 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure."

His misgivings were far from groundless. An exodus of French Jews is already underway and accelerating rapidly. In 2012, there were just over 1,900 immigrants to Israel from France. The following year nearly 3,400 French Jews emigrated; in 2014 approximately 7,000 left. For the first time ever, France heads the list of countries of origin for immigrants to Israel, and the ministry of immigration absorption expects another 10,000 French Jews to arrive in 2015.

The departure of 100,000 French Jews might once have been inconceivable. No longer.

That would mean more than 22,000 Jews fleeing France for Israel in the space of just four years, nearly 4.5 percent of the country's Jewish population. The departure of 100,000 French Jews might once have been inconceivable. No longer. In a survey last spring of France's Jewish community, the largest in Europe, three out of four respondents said they were considering emigrating.

These are staggering numbers – all the more so in a "Jewish community that has been in place for centuries and feels itself deeply attached to being French," as Daniel Jonah Goldhagen has written. But what is driving so many Jews to leave "is not Israel's pull…. It is France's push."

Over the past 15 years, that "push" – violent eruptions of French anti-Semitism – has grown relentless. The murder of four Jews by jihadists at the Hyper Cacher market on Friday was only the most recent on a long list of ominous events, including mob attacks on synagogues in Paris last summer, and the targeting of Jewish teens with Tasers, tear gas, and pepper spray.

To his credit, the French prime minister has been forthright in his condemnation of Islamist anti-Semitism. Over the weekend he declared that France was at war "against terrorism and radical Islam," a war in which "journalists were killed for drawing" and "Jews were killed because they were Jewish." But strong words from a prime minister will not halt the anti-Semitic derangement, and Valls is right to fear what that derangement would mean to France's future well-being.

Anti-Semitism is commonly regarded as a variety of racism, but the prolific English historian Paul Johnson suggests that it should be seen as a kind of intellectual disease, fundamentally irrational and highly infectious. It exerts great self-destructive force, Johnson wrote in a notable 2005 essay, severely harming countries and societies that engage in it. In a pattern that has recurred so predictably that he dubbed it a "historical law," nations that make Jewish life untenable condemn themselves to decline and weakness.

For example, Spain's expulsion of the Jews in the 1490s, and its subsequent witch-hunt of the converted "New Christians" who remained behind, meant a loss of Spanish financial and managerial talent at the very moment the New World was being opened up to lucrative colonization. That had "a profoundly deleterious impact," Johnson argued, "plunging the hitherto vigorous Spanish economy into inflation and long-term decline, and the government into repeated bankruptcy." More than 500 years later, Spain – where, incidentally, Valls was born and lived until his teens – still regrets that self-inflicted wound, and has looked for ways to rectify it.

Johnson pointed out other prominent examples of the phenomenon. Czarist Russia's persecution of Jews, reinforced by the encouragement of brutal pogroms, fueled a massive migration of Jews to the West, especially to Britain and the United States; those countries' cultural and entrepreneurial gain was Russia's debilitating loss. Germany's descent into demonic Jew-hatred under the Nazis ended in devastating military defeat, followed by a decades-long Cold War rupture and the end of German renown as Europe's intellectual center. The Arab world, steeped in anti-Semitism and obsessed with the Jewish state, squandered vast oil riches "on weapons of war and propaganda," wrote Johnson. "In their flight from reason, they have failed to modernize or civilize their societies, to introduce democracy, or to consolidate the rule of law." Arab culture once led the world in learning, innovation, and pluralism. Today it is a world leader in almost nothing, save fratricidal violence and Islamist fanaticism.

France's Jews are leaving, and that never bodes well for the society driving them out. The prime minister puts his finger on it: If there is no Jewish future in France, if the anti-Semitic cancer has metastasized so alarmingly that tens of thousands of French Jews are ready to flee, then France will indeed no longer be France. It will be something darker and more deformed, wrecked by an injury it inflicted on itself.

I can't help but concur with Bert Cohen. It is unfortunate the nations or their leaders fail to see it so clear in Bible. Prophecies are being fulfilled. I also think SusanE is right in her opinion. The world may remain in the dark, but we know by God's grace what is happening. God bless the Jews!

(23)
Hilary, Nairobi Kenya,
January 19, 2015 3:22 PM

I can't help but concur with Bert Cohen. It is unfortunate the nations or their leaders fail to see it so clear in Bible. Prophecies are being fulfilled. I also think SusanE is right in her opinion. The world may remain in the dark, but we know by God's grace what is happening. God bless the Jews!

(22)
scott,
January 19, 2015 12:46 AM

French Jews?

How can there be French Jews? There can be Jews living in France, but how can observant Jews be truly French? If the French considered jews French then they would have fought to the death to prevent their countrymen from being led to the slaughter by the Nazis. They handed their Jews over on a silver platter and a with a smile. It was only Jews.
Ever consider that g*d may be stomping his foot warning those misguided Jews who are living amongst people who hate them that truly bad times are coming?
When the Jew hatred in Europe is so virulent that there are actually antisemitic political parties in every country to combat the influence of Jews who make up less than1% of the population....how can any Jew be so clueless to call Europe home?
Why do you think jihadists pull this stuff in Europe in the first place? Because Europeans support anti jewish and anti israel terrorism and their political ambitions. Personally I think the murderers are surprised that the French reaction was so critical of their actions. I wonder what kind of reaction they would have gotten if it was just the murders at the kosher market, without the first act at the newspaper killing non Jews?
In the 1930s there was nowhere to go. Today there is no excuse for staying.

Archi Rondel,
January 21, 2015 2:17 PM

A lot of French did fight against nazism.

Pre WWII UK and USA denied entry to Jews fleeing nazism, that was governments. There were many brave Frenchmen and British people that fought and helped Jews. But of course there will always be those that are anti-semitic, as there are different Jews. Some Jews do not even recognise other Jews, although I don't accuse them of trying to 'exterminate' those they do not like. However some of what I have seen on 'live TV' of Israeli securrity treatment of young Palestinians may go some way to how outsiders see Israeli Jews. Not an anti-semite, check out family name on Yad Vashem's Shoah Victims.

(21)
Rafael Picon,
January 18, 2015 11:31 PM

French Jews vs Islamic Jews ?

it seems like the problem with diaspora Jews is diaspora Islamics. This has made managing French affairs a nightmare . If La Pen gets elected , she will come down on any ethnic organization in France who's socio / political values are not in harmony with France The diaspora mentality does imply a separation of loyalties. A general law directed at French Islamics might affect active Jewish Zionist living in France

Jewish guy,
January 20, 2015 7:37 PM

Marine LePen

I believe Marine LePen will make France safer for French Jews. She will take action against the unbridled immigration that is bringing chaos to France and she is calling the terror by its rightful name. Her party has reached out to the Jewish community, and if we are smart we will meet her half way.

(20)
SoCal man,
January 17, 2015 5:11 PM

Though a Catholic, my heart resides with the Jewish people. My prayers go out to the children of God. I pray for you often- please pray for me a sinner.

(19)
Bert Cohen,
January 17, 2015 4:42 PM

Do not ignore the bible

A great biblical theme is being played out which should be understood. The Jewish dispersal began two thousands years ago after the war with Rome. The return to Zion began with Theodore Herzl and continues. Israel gains and the Europeans lose. We should keep our eyes on the big picture.

(18)
SusanE,
January 17, 2015 5:08 AM

Will America be Next.

When the Jews leave, communities falter. I would imagine countries would have the same fate. When the Jewish culture leaves, they take their education, their businesses and their money with them. -"nations that make Jewish life untenable condemn themselves to decline and weakness."-

(17)
Anonymous,
January 16, 2015 7:24 PM

The weak leadership of the French socialist government and the rise of the ultra right wing party, led by Le Pen, is enough to make anyone frightened, not just Jews

(16)
eugene Mazzilli,
January 16, 2015 6:44 PM

The devil still exists!

Everyone,Know this, the devil still exists and spreads his errors across the world. Jews are his number one priority because they love God so much. You don't have to be a fortune teller to know what is expected in the future, just look at the past. The past is predictable of the future! And Yes, these countries have admitted too many of these radicals and extremists and they are making and causing all of the troubles. But be careful, not all peoples or minorities are trouble. I say, the people that cause trouble or incite violence and hatred against the Jews (or any minority) should immediately be imprisoned and then deported. They do not deserve the right nor privilege t to live in a free and democratic republic or country. And all countries should make this known to their citizens and the world. No exceptions. This is the only way that the rule of law will be respected and all people will be safe to live in peace and harmony. And lastly, we need to keep in mind that while it is safe to leave, please do so, while you have time to leave and come to America or Israel. It is just a matter of time before more atrocities happen in Europe, Russia, and Asia. Better to be in Israel or the U.S. where your rights and families are protected. Also, be there when Messiah comes. As we always say, "next year in Jerusalem". Make it this year in Jerusalem. Peace be unto you.

(15)
rika,
January 16, 2015 9:36 AM

Is it not remarkable that this big terrorist attack took place a week or so after the French government had agreed upon the declaration of a" Palestinian State" Is it not odd that during the march against the Islamic terrorists acts one known instigator of terrorism against the Jews , Abbas, was invited to participate. Adding to that it is not only France now and the whole of Europe later, the terrorists have invaded America too.

(14)
Anonymous,
January 16, 2015 4:09 AM

Ironically its not the french but its muslim immigrants who are driving out the jews

(13)
Anonymous,
January 16, 2015 4:00 AM

Don't blame France or mainstream Islam

Point One: The recent wave of anti-Semitism in France is a far, far cry from the past. For centuries hatred of Jews was rampant throughout much of French society. That began to change following the Dreyfus affair of more than a century ago, with French society deeply divided. Witness the Nazi collaborationists of Vichy and the Jew-protecting Partisans in World War II. The recent surge of anti-Semitism is limited to a small and very limited segment of France that, by and large, rejects most other French, Western, democratic and humanitarian values wholesale.

Point Two: Paul Johnson's warning of the corrosive effects of anti-Semitism on "host" societies is totally and equally applicable to racism and other ethnic hatred in general. The modern-day experiences of Rwanda, Myanmar and indeed the Sunni-Shia warfare within many Muslim nations should make it clear that the problem is xenophobia, of which anti-Semitism is but one albeit an extremely long-lived example

Which leads to Point Three: We of all people on earth should be the last to pile indiscriminate hate-mongering on Muslims or any other branch of the human family. One could well argue that Islamophobia is at least as rampant worldwide as anti-Semitism. Accordingly, it is deeply disappointing that Aish would allow venomous rants like those of (5) Moishe from Montreal and (1) Anonymous in its columns (the latter reads like an eerie echo of the "new pharaoh" at the start of Shmos/Exodus). Hate-filled terrorists and extremists who claim to act in the name of Allah are no more representative of the Muslim world than was Boruch Goldstein a paragon of Judaism when he massacred innocent Muslims at the Cave of Machpelah in 1994.

As the title of the article suggests, racial/ethic hatred is a derangement -- regardless of who is doing the hating and who is being hated.

Anonymous,
January 19, 2015 4:43 PM

False moral equivalence

There is only one religion in the world whose scripture commands the subjugation or murder of non-believers. That religion is Islam, as attested by Qur'an 9:5, the Verse of the Sword.

Furthermore, there is only one hatred in the world that demands extermination of the object of its hatred: that is anti-Semitism.

There is no religion like Islam, and there is no hatred like anti-Semitism.

As for Barukh Goldstein, before defaming him, read Barukh Ha-Gever to see a description of the imminent pogrom that Muslims were nearly ready to perpetrate upon the Jews of Hebron.

(12)
cedarsagecatrina,
January 15, 2015 11:39 PM

Not Only Muslims

The Muslims who hate have all too many non-Muslims willing to join them . Sadly , it was the European colonial powers who introduced the Protocols into the Arab world - most recently and intensively the Soviets .

(11)
Greg,
January 15, 2015 10:26 PM

Sad but not unexpectd

The problem is the French government and the French people don't seem to genuinely care about the Jewish people. It took muslim terrorists killing non Jews before anything was actually said about the terrorism. And in a weeks time the people of France are blaming the Jews for the attack. So why wouldn't the Jews want to leave? The bigger question is why would any Jews want to STAY in France?

(10)
Johann,
January 15, 2015 10:26 PM

What Has Happened to Our France?

It is INCREDIBLE that the French have learned nothing from what happened to Germany during and following WWII. That anti-Semitism would be allowed to flourish in modern-day France is unbelievable. What has gone wrong with their good sense? Was an ugly anti-Semitism lying dormant there too all these centuries?

(9)
John,
January 15, 2015 10:14 PM

Wonderful news!

It's wonderful to hear of the Jews immigrating back home. It should be the goal of every Jew to end the great diaspora!

(8)
Austin Kuder,
January 15, 2015 9:43 PM

Out numbered 10 to one

The Jews in France are in trouble because they are outnumbered by Muslims ten to one. The more Muslims in any Country, the worse it gets for everyone else. The Jews are the canary in the coal mine.

(7)
Independent,
January 15, 2015 7:19 PM

what has changed?

Remember Dreyfus, remember the Drancy staging post to Auschwitz, remember the number of French people living in houses looted from the Jews during the Vichy period.

(6)
Chris,
January 15, 2015 6:11 PM

Hate

Its sad that still in todays world their is such hate, that no matter our culture or differances we should respect that and embrace the differances. If we were all the same it would be a very colorless world. I am not Jewish, I believe in love, kindness, and caring and I am sorry for anyone that has to leave their home because of hatered.

Alaine Apap Bologna,
January 16, 2015 5:50 PM

In total agreement

Hear, hear! I second you

(5)
Moishe from Montreal,
January 15, 2015 6:10 PM

muzslime "takers" drain the EU economy

The muzslimes taking over the EU could be the EU's punishment for what they did to the Jews this century. Their economies are being drained due to the Muzslimes welfare demands. Serves them EU anti-Semites right!

Yossel from Montral,
January 15, 2015 8:01 PM

Je suis d'accord.

Moishe, yours is the best post I've read in a long time. It pretty much says it all !!

(4)
Marilyn Stein,
January 15, 2015 5:44 PM

Europe doesn't deserve to have Jews

With Europe's history of anti-Semitism and then the Shoah, I hoped the survivors would leave Europe. Let them hate each other instead.

Anonymous,
January 16, 2015 7:43 PM

Agree

Totally agree!

(3)
Anonymous,
January 15, 2015 5:00 PM

When the Jews leave, it is time for the Portugese to leave. Then all the Christians. BUTit may be too late

(2)
Marl,
January 15, 2015 4:54 PM

No surprise

Frances has been anti-Semitic for a very long time - there is no surprise now. The surprise is that French Jews have finally had ENOUGH!!

Shame on France! Prepare yourself for the consequences of your actions.

Annie,
January 16, 2015 6:08 AM

The Hebdo people weren't journalists, they were dedicated to putting out often obscene, usually offensive and provocative cartoons that were intended to be inflammatory-and they achieved their ambition and paid a terrible price for their arrogant stupidity. They were like university students mocking and insulting because 'they could'. Well, could doesn't mean should. I see that someone who expressed sympathy with the shooters has been arrested for trying to exercise HIS freedom of expression. It seems that in France, there's freedom of expression all right-as long as you're expressing the right opinions, IE, not Jewish, Muslim, Catholic...

Anonymous,
January 16, 2015 5:57 PM

True, but...

May I add that last week's reaction to the terrorist attacks proved to be positive: 3,7 million demonstrators supported freedom of expression and support for the French Jews (who, on their side, are totally integrated into French culture).

(1)
Anonymous,
January 15, 2015 4:48 PM

Europe owes it to Jews. What did we rebuild Europe for?

Europe owes it to Jews that Jews can live in safety and dignity.Problem: islamic immigration. Its way too many now. They have numbers. They have hatred toward their host countries. They are attacking Jews. Its the muslims nowadays. Muslims are the new nazis.

Got it??

Marsha,
January 15, 2015 8:05 PM

You got it

You are absolutely right! Muslims ARE most definitely the new Nazis! The problem we have today, as opposed to the 1930's and 40's with the Nazis, is that there is no comparisons to the vast numbers of the Muslims and they are infiltrating every country on earth! The world needs to open their eyes to the sick beliefs of these deranged people and put an end to them......all of them!!!